Primary Results Seen as Blow to the Bronx Democratic Leader

By JONATHAN P. HICKS

Published: September 14, 2000

His name was not on a single ballot in Tuesday's primary election. But Assemblyman Roberto Ramirez, the Bronx Democratic Party chairman, had as much at stake as any candidate whose fate was determined at the ballot box.

And by any measure, the primary election dealt a significant blow to Mr. Ramirez, the man who has been at the helm of the Bronx Democratic organization, the man who is regularly consulted by Al Gore and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

''There are going to be times when we're going to win and times that we lose,'' Mr. Ramirez said in an interview yesterday, taking stock of the previous day's election.

''To me, how you deal with losses is as important, maybe more important, than how you deal with victories,'' he said. ''It tells much about what people are made of.''

Many politicians in the Bronx and beyond spent much of the day assessing precisely how Mr. Ramirez, his stewardship over a once seemingly well-honed political machine, as well as his influence, would be affected. Candidates backed by Mr. Ramirez lost in four of the five races in the Bronx in which the party chairman lent considerable energy and his personal prestige.

The most prominent was the House race between Representative Eliot L. Engel and State Senator Larry B. Seabrook. In that contest, Mr. Ramirez took the unusual step of withdrawing his support from an incumbent Democratic official and backing an insurgent candidate with whom he had long had an arms-length relationship.

Mr. Ramirez also supported Michael R. Benedetto, a Democratic district leader who lost a State Senate race to Lorraine Coyle Koppell, and David Rosado, a state senator who lost to Pedro Espada Jr., a former state senator.

Mr. Ramirez also supported Assemblyman Samuel D. Bea's effort to win a Senate seat, a race he lost to Ruth H. Thompson. Only one of the candidates he supported, Assemblyman Peter M. Rivera, won.

For most Democratic Party chairmen, such a large number of losses would not seem to provide a defining moment.

But for Mr. Ramirez, who has generally had great success in getting his candidates elected, a string of losses has led many officials to call into question how effectively he can shepherd next year's campaign of Fernando Ferrer, the Bronx borough president who is planning to run for mayor.

Mr. Ramirez said the results of Tuesday's election should mean little to nothing about his leadership of the party organization. He said he remained committed to his goal of ushering in ''a new generation of political leadership'' in the city and the state.

''I think it means nothing outside of the fact that we lost four races,'' Mr. Ramirez said. ''I am proud of the endorsements that I made. I don't view the results as a personal defeat. While it is a political defeat, it's not a personal defeat.''

Some, however, interpreted the results in starkly different terms. ''Basically, the election represented a total rejection of his leadership style,'' Mr. Espada said. ''That style of old-time bossism was rejected in every section of this borough.''

The impact on Mr. Ferrer's campaign, Mr. Espada said, will be considerable. ''It has fatally wounded Freddy Ferrer's chances as a viable candidate.''

''I think it was the epitaph for Roberto Ramirez,'' he added.

It was clear that many of the victors in Tuesday's contests viewed the victory for their campaigns as a slap at the leadership of Mr. Ramirez.

Indeed, at his celebration, Mr. Engel made mention of the Bronx Democratic leader, announcing to the crowd, ''Let me say one thing to Bronx boss Roberto Ramirez: You ain't seen nothing yet.''

Despite his candidates' losses, Mr. Ramirez insisted that he would support all the Democrats who won the primary election, with the exception of Mr. Espada. He pointed out that Mr. Espada, who operates a large health care center, is facing a trial in the Bronx on charges of Medicaid fraud.

''I am a Democrat and, at the end of the day, it should not be about personalities, but about what is good for the party and the people,'' Mr. Ramirez said.

Mr. Ramirez hinted that there might be plans for some political retribution. Of Mr. Engel, he said, ''I might remind Mr. Engel that two years is not really a very long time. His victory means simply that he will be the congressman for another two years. That's all it means.''

Politicians closely aligned with the Bronx Democratic organization say that Mr. Ramirez suffered a blow, but far from a fatal one, explaining that he remains an important political strategist for statewide and national campaigns. They add that Mr. Ramirez will have an opportunity to regain the ground he lost in next year's municipal elections, as well as in the races for the Legislature the following year.

Allen P. Cappelli, a spokesman for Mr. Ferrer, said that the borough president's prospects remained unaffected by the results of Tuesday's election. He said that Mr. Ferrer had not made an endorsement in the race between Mr. Engel and Mr. Seabrook and that the borough president had ''a good relationship with both of them.''

Photo: Assemblyman Roberto Ramirez, the Bronx Democratic Party chairman, at the party headquarters on Westchester Square. (Richard Perry/The New York Times)